Insurance companies can testify to the dangers posed by fires originating from overheating of grease or oils during cooking. Many solutions have been proposed for extinguishing stove grease fires, but none appears to have been adopted to the extent that they are commonly in use. In contrast to extensively-used relatively inexpensive smoke alarms that are fairly simple for an average homeowner to install and are relatively inexpensive, stovetop fire extinguishers are the exception rather than the rule. They are either too complex for the average homeowner to install, are too cumbersome due to having to use cables extending around and above the cooking area, do not adequately fit into the cooking area without inconveniencing the cooking operation, are required to be mounted inside a relatively inaccessible cooking hood or are so costly that they are unaffordable to those persons at the lower end of the economic scale who may have greatest need for an extinguisher.
In addition, where the stove burner is gas operated and is of an age that it lacks an automatic shut-off feature in the event of a flame-out, a pressure-operated fire extinguisher can create a further potential danger. If the pressure happens to extinguish the burner and its pilot, leaking gas presents the possibility of an explosion, either from the fire itself, or from a later spark if the extinguisher puts out the initial fire but gas continues to leak. A pressure operated extinguisher also presents the risk of burning fat being blown out of a pan, spreading the fire to the surrounding area or causing the hot fat to burn an individual in the vicinity.